This time last year, oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky was behind bars, scribbling the occasional public letter to remind the world about his captivity. Last weekend, he stood before thousands of people in Kiev's Independence Square, where he delivered a short speech calling on Ukraine to continue its struggle for freedom. (Read the speech here[1] in Russian and here[2] in English.) As the crowd chanted “Russia, rise up!” Khodorkovsky encouraged Ukrainians to remember that not all Russians support interventionism:

Glory to the people of a new and democratic Ukraine! […] Russian propaganda has been telling lies, as always. There aren’t any fascists or Nazis here. To be more accurate, there aren’t any more of them than in the streets of Moscow or St. Petersburg. These are perfectly normal people, Russians, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars. They are wonderful people who have successfully defended their freedom. I wish them luck and all the very best. […]

I want you to know that there is another Russia. There are people there who, during those days, took to the streets to participate in anti-war rallies. They did so despite arrests and many years that they will have to spend in prison. There are people there who value the friendship between Ukrainians and Russians over their personal freedom.

Russian-Internet users were intensely curious about Khodorkovsky's reasons for appearing in Kiev. Indeed, many online speculated that his visit could indicate plans to launch a career in politics.

Twitter user svolputotouta noted that Khodorkovsky met in Kiev with Yuri Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian Interior Minister and a fellow freed political prisoner:

Once upon a time, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was a shark in the Russian business world and a huge crook. Perhaps one of the worst in Russia. Today we see a smalltime political scammer. Sic transit[9]… yes.

Whatever Khodorkovsky's true purpose was for going to Kiev, his mixed reputation clearly followed him. The speech at Maidan and other engagements in Ukraine mark Khodorkovsky's biggest public appearances since he was suddenly freed from prison late last year. Now he's attended a rally in a city that just overthrew the Moscow-backed Yanukovich regime. Without mentioning the name of the man who signed his pardon, Khodorkovsky's comments at Maidan were fiercely critical of Russian intervention in Ukraine. That being the case, why did he refrain from criticizing more directly Russia's leader? Where was the word “Putin”?